Film's secrets better kept secret

With its dulling straightforward pitch for Jesus, The Last Sin Eater seems like the worst of films from a non-born-again perspective.

But even for those who are the hallelujah type, there are a few slight caveats.

Author of the original novel, Francine Rivers, was well-published before she found religion. Her talent shows in this layered tale about a young girl living in an 1800s Appalachian community of Welsh immigrants with terrible secrets.

There's also dependable support. Henry Thomas (Elliot in E.T.) appears as the ill-fated man who brings Jesus to this Appalachian cove. Louise Fletcher (Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest) is the local granny who's had enough of all the lies.

The story revolves around an old religious custom. The sin eater is a chosen person who will live separately from the community and consume the sins of the dead in the form of a tasty meal laid out on their coffins. This theme has been explored before -- most notably in Brian Helgeland's failed 2003 film The Order, with Heath Ledger. But the idea still carries enough medieval allure to elevate the proceedings.

Like the close-minded community around her, Cadi Forbes also has a secret. It's one that is slowly revealed as she searches for the sin eater. She hopes to be absolved now, long before she's laid to rest. In the process, she and Fagan discover the cove's secrets, just as surely as they eventually will share the word of God.

Of course, the end lesson is that there is no need for a sin eater among the living. Because, never mind the last sin eater, guess who was the first? Thank you, Jesus.